Avery Dennison to acquire Paxar

Avery Dennison is to acquire Paxar for $1.34 billion, in what is seen as a bid to compete more effectively in the fragmented, expanding $15 billion-plus global retail information and brand identification market.

‘This combination will give us the capabilities, products and geographic reach to pursue new segments of the global retail information and brand identification market. These segments include retailers and manufacturers serving local customers in India and China,’ said Dean Scarborough, president and chief executive officer of Avery Dennison.

Avery Dennison's Retail Information Services (RIS) business represents one of its fastest-growing units. RIS provides brand identification and supply chain management solutions primarily for manufacturers and retailers, including tag and label design and printing; inventory and shipment tracking; and data management systems.

In this evolving marketplace, it is increasingly important to be close to the local manufacturing clusters. With their complementary geographic footprints, in particular with Paxar's greater focus on Europe, the acquisition improves the combined company's ability to serve customers in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.

‘Lower-cost production – and higher levels of quality and speed of delivery – will be crucial for winning against the local and regional competition we face at the buying office and factory levels,’ said Scarborough. ‘This combination will benefit the factories that purchase our tickets and tags as well as the retailers and the brand owners they supply.’